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Our NavigateCancer Foundation celebration of National Cancer Survivorship Month is complete as we introduce you to a 76 year old professional umpire; retired high school teacher and cancer survivor who believes that the lessons he learned from his parents, the classroom and the sports field have prepared him well for his fight against cancer.
Born in 1932, with an identical twin to an Irish mother and an Italian father, Dennis Comolli believes he already had the perfect set-up for a life full of laughs. He doesn’t know which side the humor gene came from but remembers his family was always joking around. Identical twins were an oddity in his small New England town and he and his brother were center stage whether it was performing in a quartet, theatre shows or while one was class president  and the other was captain of the team. Fondly, he credits his father with teaching him the art of conversation and credits his mother for setting great expectations with a positive attitude. He believes the “glass is always half full” and says that a positive attitude doesn’t stop bad things from happening to you, “it just helps you get through it”.
He excelled in high school and college sports, not so much from physical talent but more by sheer grit and determination. His lifelong affection for sports continued with 37 years as a football and basketball referee and this year, he will be celebrating his 50th year as a baseball umpire. Dennis believes that sports is a lot like life and said, “I learned that you’re not going to win every time you take the field” and the measure of success better be measured in a different way.
In 1959, he went on to teach high school Biology and Anatomy, earning a starting salary of $4,400 per year. “Learning to be resourceful for both the classroom and my family was key to our survival. “We had our share of personal tough times but those times have helped me to get stronger”, he reflects. “My wife says that I joke about everything”, says Dennis but “laughter has taught me how to get through most everything”. And he learned to make others feel better too by telling them a joke.
Now, he and his wife enjoy the life of snowbirds, heading south for the winter and north for the beautiful New England summers. It was just last winter when he developed a swelling in his upper chest. At first thought, he blamed it on a hit from a foul ball during one of his baseball games. But when it didn’t resolve, he sought help. The diagnosis was lymphoma.
He drew upon his life lessons and began to make a plan. He got educated, found the right resources and met it head-on with a positive attitude. In fact, he was so positive that this disease was not going to alter his lifestyle; he arranged a doctor in Florida to give him half of his treatments and another doctor in New Hampshire to give him the remainder of his chemotherapy! Cancer wasn’t going to stop him from living his life, even at 76 years old. He kept officiating baseball games; just fewer than before, and is enjoying the compliments on his new bald head. He says, “I am getting younger as I age!”
His competitive spirit, positive attitude and a sense of resourcefulness have helped Dennis Comolli not only survive, but thrive. He wants other cancer patients, especially senior citizens to know that they can do it too.
So, when it’s the bottom of the ninth, bases are loaded and life throws you a curve ball…..take a deep breath, dig deep and with humor and optimism, hit it out of the park!
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